Database Users

used to support acer...now?

I just emailed acer to stress to them (as if they care) my upsets. I own an acer netbook that i loved. It was a good product, never caused me any problems that wernt user error. When i saw they had a tablet i didnt even hesitate to buy it. I figured it would be a great product like the experience ive previously had.
When i saw all of the hate threads about the bugs and lack of updates i patiently waited by with faith on acer.
3.2 is around the corner and there is still no "official" 3.1 update for most countries. There are still huge bugs in the open with no official fix. This is my first android device, and im disappointed.
I will most likely be looking for another tablet. One with support from its manufacturer. The support from the community here have been great though, so thank you to everyonewho contributes.
I may hang on to this device a little longer and see what happens but right now im feeling like i made the wrong decision when i bought this.
I dont normally make posts like this but i just felt like saying something.
/rant

n1nj4dude said:
When i saw all of the hate threads about the bugs and lack of updates i patiently waited by with faith on acer.
3.2 is around the corner and there is still no "official" 3.1 update for most countries.
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The 3.1 update is already released in many countries and others will get it in a few weeks. And to be honest, Acer told you that the update will come in late June, early July, so it's pointless to expect it any earlier than that.
There are still huge bugs in the open with no official fix. This is my first android device, and im disappointed.
I will most likely be looking for another tablet. One with support from its manufacturer. The support from the community here have been great though, so thank you to everyonewho contributes.
I may hang on to this device a little longer and see what happens but right now im feeling like i made the wrong decision when i bought this.
I dont normally make posts like this but i just felt like saying something.
/rant
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This is my first Android device too, and well, I'm actually very happy with it. A few niggles here and there, but those are all Google's doing and they'll exist on all the other Honeycomb tablets, too. One can only hope Google puts some effort into polishing it.
Still, there's no way in hell I'm gonna let go of my tablet.

Unless you can return the device for a refund/exchange I'd say hold onto it until Kal-El is out. That hardware is going to be nice and hopefully Google will have worked on the code side some too.

WereCatf said:
The 3.1 update is already released in many countries and others will get it in a few weeks. And to be honest, Acer told you that the update will come in late June, early July, so it's pointless to expect it any earlier than that.
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Many countries? Please do show me. And hacked roms/ ports dont count, i never said i expected it before the release date (which btw has not been 'told' officially for the US.) But the fact they are this many weeks behind competitors is bad for their business.
WereCatf said:
This is my first Android device too, and well, I'm actually very happy with it. A few niggles here and there, but those are all Google's doing and they'll exist on all the other Honeycomb tablets, too. One can only hope Google puts some effort into polishing it.
Still, there's no way in hell I'm gonna let go of my tablet.
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For my first android device it isnt horrible, i just think acer could be doing a lot better.
muqali said:
Unless you can return the device for a refund/exchange I'd say hold onto it until Kal-El is out. That hardware is going to be nice and hopefully Google will have worked on the code side some too.
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Thank you, i will do this. I honestly havent heard about this tablet till just now, after looking it up, its got my interest peaked.

Thank you, i will do this. I honestly havent heard about this tablet till just now, after looking it up, its got my interest peaked.
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Kal-El is the Tegra 3 chipset iirc. So not just any one tablet. Although unless Acer changes their bootloader stance I'll go with Asus' the next time around.

Patience is a virtue
wait until 5th july to start be upset.
and you expect what more???
for the price and the quality really!!!! this tablet is far better than some others all things compared... depends what you need.
I bought 2 tablets and 2 phone from ACER the same month. and I am purely satisfied with what I got.
I do not expect perfection at the first release... wait for the A100 or the future Iconia Tablet.... I think that will be something really awesome.

This is not the right attitude to have on xda!
Very few tablets have gotten 3.1 and none of the manufacturers has released it world wide.
Today we got the 3.1 update (unofficial) and the 3.1 kernel.
It is by all means a day of joy and the bootloader barely makes a difference. We got clockwork anyway!

Bec07 said:
This is not the right attitude to have on xda!
Very few tablets have gotten 3.1 and none of the manufacturers has released it world wide.
Today we got the 3.1 update (unofficial) and the 3.1 kernel.
It is by all means a day of joy and the bootloader barely makes a difference. We got clockwork anyway!
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What Bec said -
Had my tablet for two weeks now - used vcache's thread in the dev section to get the most recent OTA upgrade - rooted with modded Gingerbreak - removed bloatware apk's (and backed them up) and spent a couple days learning about the system. Thanks to xda - my tablet is able to pick up on a ad-hoc wi-fi network hotspotted from my cheapo VM Samsung Intercept (25$ USD a month for unlimited 3g - cannot do much better then that) - and I have perfect video playback for watching movies on the go (assuming I take the time to convert those pesky 720/1020 .mkv files to something the a500 can hardware decode).
16 gb internal storage - 32 gb on my microsd - 32 more gb on a USB stick I can plug in - this thing runs like greased lightning! Running the 144.07 official Acer version (as far as I can tell - early releases of 3.1 for this device do not yet support hardware decoding for video - i have been away a few days and this may be outdated).
Again - patience is a virtue. In the meantime - have you made sure you are running the latest OTA version and have you tried rooting your device and trimming away some of the fat? It is literally a 10 min fool proof process - the only thing you need to remember is to keep a safe backup of any system files you remove. Once Acer updates with another OTA version - you simply restore the system files and update. Very simple.

muqali said:
Unless you can return the device for a refund/exchange I'd say hold onto it until Kal-El is out. That hardware is going to be nice and hopefully Google will have worked on the code side some too.
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And hopefully a nexus series tablet, thats my next tablet.......now to go sell some old toys of mine to get ready
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App

I i think I came off to strong. I don't hate this tablet. The device itself is great, and being a first time android user, I already like it more than ios.
And honeycomb 3.0.1 is not a bad firmware.
My beef is with Acer, maybe I was just expecting to much from them. And maybe they are slow to the gun for good reasons we/I don't know about. I just think as a company who is in direct competition with motorola and Asus they should be more responsive to what's happening around them. But again this is my opinion, and I know you all will have yours,
And I don't have an attitude directed at xda as a couple of you seem to think, xda community has done nothing but provide support and advice when needed. The short time I've been here I've learned a lot from many of you, so thank you. (Excuse my typos, my soft keyboard keeps force closing some reason)

again
Have you checked out the OTA update thread in the dev section and made sure you are running a updated version? If anything - patching to the latest OTA dramatically improved my browser experience.

entropy.of.avarice said:
Have you checked out the OTA update thread in the dev section and made sure you are running a updated version? If anything - patching to the latest OTA dramatically improved my browser experience.
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Sorry I missed your first post, yes I am running the most recent version

Transformer Prime release date delayed to December(FALSE RUMOR)

Verified not true by NVIDIA.

hope it's not delayed too long (or at all). google should have been working with them all along to get ics out there and now they're going to pull this crap at the last minute? i'm fairly sure most of us would rather it release with honeycomb sooner and deal with an update later. we'll see what happens on the 9th.

If it still hit christmas, I think it's the smartest move to make.
First reviews are critical for a product commercial succes and releasing the Prime with Honeycomb instead of the more polished ICS could really hurts it. Even if it's updated 2 week after, demonstration products in store will likely stay with honeycomb for a while making it just a prettier and maybe smoother version of every other tablet already on the market.
Asus wants to make this right, Google wants to make this right, if they do, we ll have the Nexus Prime we were waiting for, except it won't be a phone.

Well, a release date wasn't even set yet so in that way it isn't delayed either... But I rather have it they just release it and update it quickly then wait with release.
I can imagine the same goes for asus, earlier release means more sales (simply because of specs) regardless of ICS. As long as they are the first to get it on their tablet they should be fine. It's not as if they loose sales to other ICS tablets when they release it sooner.
@kokusho: And now reading your comment... that's fair enough and true indeed.

I guess it's a good decision. No one apart from Asus has said a word about a quad-core or ICS (only updates to available models). With this move, Asus will be the first to release a quad-core tablet or an ICS one.. and it's doing both at the same time!! This will have some great atention from the media, and I'm sure asus will benefit agains others from that.

Yeah, I agree this was probably the best move for both Google and ASUS, but now I will probably have issues getting one. I'm in the States for another week or so before going back to Germany, and if the Jan 6 EU date is true then my Christmas has been ruined

TrailorParkKid said:
Yeah, I agree this was probably the best move for both Google and ASUS, but now I will probably have issues getting one. I'm in the States for another week or so before going back to Germany, and if the Jan 6 EU date is true then my Christmas has been ruined
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why would it be the best move? you are expecting it to be developed/tested/released within a month on the Prime. It is going to be glitches galore and then they are going to have to do another patch for ICS. By that time, people will be upset that they got such a bad experience with ICS that they will jump ship.
Ship with what you know works (honeycomb) then do a later upgrade to ICS. its the hardware that people wants and a decently stable software. People don't complain about "upgrades" but people will complain about "delays".

jblah said:
why would it be the best move? you are expecting it to be developed/tested/released within a month on the Prime. It is going to be glitches galore and then they are going to have to do another patch for ICS. By that time, people will be upset that they got such a bad experience with ICS that they will jump ship.
Ship with what you know works (honeycomb) then do a later upgrade to ICS. its the hardware that people wants and a decently stable software. People don't complain about "upgrades" but people will complain about "delays".
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True, but with Google working so closely with ASUS, maybe they'll get it done well enough for a stable release. And ultimately, I'm happy to see the Prime become the marquee ICS tablet.
Assuming this report is true, of course.

morphiend said:
hope it's not delayed too long (or at all). google should have been working with them all along to get ics out there and now they're going to pull this crap at the last minute? i'm fairly sure most of us would rather it release with honeycomb sooner and deal with an update later. we'll see what happens on the 9th.
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It's no secret that samsung has been google's star all this time. I've been saying that's a mistake since the beginning. Looks like google has finally realized this was a huge mistake for ignoring asus all this time.
It's not just google that's been ignoring the asus transformer. Mainstream media rarely mentions it as well. As a matter of fact, even though the transformer sold a lot better than the galaxy tab 10.1, the transformer made it to the list of tablets that should have died along with the HP touchpad and the galaxy tab didn't get on that list. The tech media bias against the transformer is astounding.

goodintentions said:
It's no secret that samsung has been google's star all this time. I've been saying that's a mistake since the beginning. Looks like google has finally realized this was a huge mistake for ignoring asus all this time.
It's not just google that's been ignoring the asus transformer. Mainstream media rarely mentions it as well. As a matter of fact, even though the transformer sold a lot better than the galaxy tab 10.1, the transformer made it to the list of tablets that should have died along with the HP touchpad and the galaxy tab didn't get on that list. The tech media bias against the transformer is astounding.
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i don't understand what the tech media gains from not giving props to the TF. but now that you mention it, you are right. we dont' hear a lot about ASUS anywhere.

jblah said:
why would it be the best move? you are expecting it to be developed/tested/released within a month on the Prime. It is going to be glitches galore and then they are going to have to do another patch for ICS. By that time, people will be upset that they got such a bad experience with ICS that they will jump ship.
Ship with what you know works (honeycomb) then do a later upgrade to ICS. its the hardware that people wants and a decently stable software. People don't complain about "upgrades" but people will complain about "delays".
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I tend to agree with this. This move could actually backfire for Asus. The current state of HC isn't all that different from ICS, from a GUI / basic functionality standpoint, and certainly isn't going to be a major differentiator to the avg. Joe. Give John Doe a Prime w/ HC and a Prime w/ ICS and he isn't going to notice much of a difference in average use. It's only the tech heads who are going to gush over the OS upgrade.
Trying to hammer out an ICS build and load it onto the Prime just before launch does smell like a potential disaster. New versions of any OS always come w/ a punchlist of bugs, some of which might turn people away. I think Asus should have gone the conservative route in this case.

the_gunner said:
Trying to hammer out an ICS build and load it onto the Prime just before launch does smell like a potential disaster. New versions of any OS always come w/ a punchlist of bugs, some of which might turn people away. I think Asus should have gone the conservative route in this case.
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What is wrong about teaming up with Google to finish a final build of ICS for the launch of the Transformer? It isn't like ASUS is taking the source and doing what they want with it, Google is actually sending their own engineers and developers in to ASUS to help work out the bugs or any issues. If anything, this means Asus and Google are serious about making all 4.0 devices the best they can be.
However, this is a Digitimes article and I take it with a grain of salt. Everyone else should, too. They have been wrong many many times.

jblah said:
i don't understand what the tech media gains from not giving props to the TF. but now that you mention it, you are right. we dont' hear a lot about ASUS anywhere.
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The tech media, IMHO, is composed almost entirely of ifanboys. They like to focus on android tablets that are a disaster, like the moto xoom. It was a tablet that was almost twice the weight, twice the thickness, and twice the price as the ipad 2, and tech media loved to bring it up over and over.
The galaxy tab 10.1 looks almost identical as the ipad2, and the tech media loves to bring it up as an example of a copycat of the ipad 2.
On the other hand, the transformer is an original product. It's the only tablet out there that has the potential to be productive as well as fun and games. Sales wise, it's doing far better than all the other android tablets. And there is no other company that rolls out this many updates in such a short time that responds to people's needs.
Remember the dock battery drain when it first came out? Asus very quickly came up with a fix and even offered to change out the chipset for free. Every subsequent update has been a direct response to people's complaints and criticisms. I really can't think of any other company that is this responsive to user experience and this supportive after they made the sale.
And yet tech media tend to ignore this technological marvel.
Either the tech media man up and admit they are largely ifanboys or give the asus transformer a fair chance.

dandmcd said:
What is wrong about teaming up with Google to finish a final build of ICS for the launch of the Transformer? It isn't like ASUS is taking the source and doing what they want with it, Google is actually sending their own engineers and developers in to ASUS to help work out the bugs or any issues. If anything, this means Asus and Google are serious about making all 4.0 devices the best they can be.
However, this is a Digitimes article and I take it with a grain of salt. Everyone else should, too. They have been wrong many many times.
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there isn't anything wrong with teaming up with google to get this done. that to me is a positive. the negative is that they are forcing these people to get it done in a month, test it out and then load it in ALL the TF2s for shipping. that is such a short time frame that people are bound to make mistakes. you rush development on something as important as the OS, you are looking for trouble. you end up with patches after patches of fixes and by that time people get frustrated. They do not need to rush the ICS release. They can release the TF2 with honeycomb and then upgrade to ICS when they are ready..perhaps early next year.
but i guess we'll see what they say tomorrow.

As I think more about it, what amazes me the most is that we're taking a Digitimes rumor this seriously.

I wouldn't think of this as a false rumor. Think about it! The TF2 is the only quad-core Android tablet with a release date of 2011. Asus did an excellent job with their first Android device by supporting it FAR better than any other OEM as well.
Google needs a flagship ICS tablet on its release and the Prime is the only Quad core tablet available. Even if Google hates Asus, they have to choose them.

xTRICKYxx said:
I wouldn't think of this as a false rumor. Think about it! The TF2 is the only quad-core Android tablet with a release date of 2011. Asus did an excellent job with their first Android device by supporting it FAR better than any other OEM as well.
Google needs a flagship ICS tablet on its release and the Prime is the only Quad core tablet available. Even if Google hates Asus, they have to choose them.
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Still a rumor. Besides Nov. 9 was never the release date just an official product launch event. I always suspected it would be late Nov. early Dec. release.

timlot said:
Still a rumor. Besides Nov. 9 was never the release date just an official product launch event. I always suspected it would be late Nov. early Dec. release.
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Right. In another thread, someone said that the release date is being pushed back. However, what we really have is a rumor about a change to a rumored release date...

we'll know in less than 24 hrs! speaking of which, when is the "launch" conference and where is it going to be?

no one knows/cares

ICS coming soon it seems

I just noticed an update for Acer Nidus (their bug reporting app) in the changelog, it mentions a change to allow better ICS compatibility. So clearly they are in the testing phase, in fact theyre far enough into it that they're ever n upgrading their own apps for it, which means thework theyve done to build the Rom must be pretty far along.

Good stuff! Thanks for the heads up.

This is one of the reasons I went ahead and purchased the Iconia Tab, I have read many reports online stating that ACER will be pushing the 4.0 update sometime in January for both models of their Android TAB the A100 and A500. Your little find makes me believe that they werent kidding, I won't hold my breathe waiting for it in January I would bet on No earlier than February, thats just the way Manufactures seem to do things anymore.

garringm said:
This is one of the reasons I went ahead and purchased the Iconia Tab, I have read many reports online stating that ACER will be pushing the 4.0 update sometime in January for both models of their Android TAB the A100 and A500. Your little find makes me believe that they werent kidding, I won't hold my breathe waiting for it in January I would bet on No earlier than February, thats just the way Manufactures seem to do things anymore.
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ME too...That was one of the reason I bought it.

Acer sales spurt
I think acer will push the ics update sooner then people are expecting,or they will release a new tablet then push the update to us after that.So it could go either way. IF they do not have the new t 3 tablets ready.or there is a very large stock of icer iconia tabs out there.. they may push the update and use it as a tool to promote another sales spurt for out devices..
I Guess with this said it could be tomorrow or not until spring or mid year.. AS i said above and from what i have read it all depends on how close the new t 3 devices are . They do what ever they can to drive sales NOT MAKE ALREADY CUSTOMERS HAPPY..
i USED TO Own a retail business and on a local scale this does work its like when a new version of windows is about to come out.. People dont push new hardware right away.. they push that there existing hardware will run the new os and push that first.. then NEw hardware taking advantage of the new os after stocks have been depleated.. ITS NOT FAIR TO CUSTOMERS BUT GOOD FOR THERE BOTTOM LINE..

garringm said:
This is one of the reasons I went ahead and purchased the Iconia Tab, I have read many reports online stating that ACER will be pushing the 4.0 update sometime in January for both models of their Android TAB the A100 and A500. Your little find makes me believe that they werent kidding, I won't hold my breathe waiting for it in January I would bet on No earlier than February, thats just the way Manufactures seem to do things anymore.
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It'll be awhile before I flash any update from a manufacturer, went down that road with my evo 4g and samsung captivate. Samsung Drops the ball every time an update comes out, nut I guess I can't cry too hard because a lot of the hold up is from the phone carriers trying to tie up any loop hole, and cram all of their crapware in. HTC pulled a major foopah with the hardcore techies when they locked down their bootloaders. 6 months without root priviliges, that sucked

FWIW - the newly released a200 has been announced as ICS ready - with reports that it will be shipping with ICS in January.
Given the lead times between manufacture and shipping - to be saying this and aiming get a device in stores in January with ICS - the ICS rom must pretty much be complete for that device.
And what a sweet tab it is for the price - picked up one of the first ones available for a very sweet 299 - which i think makes it the best priced HC 3.2.1 10'1 tab on the planet at the moment. Well done acer . . .
___________
Acer Liquid MT
Acer A200 Iconia Tab

I might be wrong, but my money is on ACER NOT pushing ICS <period>. They may make it available manually, but pushing it OTA should have their legal staff trying to stop it.
Here's the issue. If you download the HC kernel and compare it to ICS it is greatly different. Many applications have issues running on ICS that ran fine on HC. It is risky. Many carriers have a service level agreement with customers and breaking a tablet on a customer you already have on contract paying you isn't worth the risk either. Secondly, there are huge changes in ICS that certain carriers are not going to want on their 3G networks. So, anyone with such an ACER (like on on Verzion), don't hold your breath.
So, here you are at ACER sitting in the executive boardroom and they're discussing ICS. Why would anyone want to support giving past customers (or better yet forcing past customers via OTA) ICS when they already have that past customer's money? No upside, only costs, headaches, and lawsuit's written all over it. ACER will therefore, release ICS only on NEW hardware. Therefore they can get you to pay for it. Also read their press releases. They are saying A500 to get ICS. But they are NOT saying YOUR OLD ACER a500 that you previously bought will be upgraded free of charge and free of issues are they?
Bottom-line, there's too much risk involved in OTA'ng a NEW OS to customers that are NOT paying you anything. Why have someone start a class action lawsuit over it because the OTA broke something?
Lastly, I've been programming and running ICS for 3 months now and it is buggy. Stuff crashes, MFG's are needing to patch their apps, etc. If ACER makes ICS OTA it won't be a release it will be a nightmare.
my 2¢
TD

timmyDean said:
So, here you are at ACER sitting in the executive boardroom and they're discussing ICS. Why would anyone want to support giving past customers (or better yet forcing past customers via OTA) ICS when they already have that past customer's money?
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If Acer's smart and that executive sitting in the boardroom is not so short sighted, they'll understand that supporting their 8 month old product with reasonable updates for a reasonable period of time is the only way I'll consider using their brand again.
So if they abandon it... I (and many other users here) will never buy another Acer as a gift for a friend or family member, never recommend it to anybody, and we'll end up telling everybody to stay away from them. That's not how you build brand loyalty (compare this with Apple).
Even Samsung, who announced they weren't going to bother with ICS for any of the legacy Galaxy products is now having second thoughts after the backlash they started getting.
Now, nobody's saying they need to release all updates for everything forever. The 18-month Android Developer commitment these companies pledged to is a very reasonable window. And if there's concern about the OTA aspect, release it on the side as a manual update (HTC already does this).
And for bonus points, when they're done with the product's life-cycle... at least leave the keys on the table for us (i.e. HTC and their recent decision to unlock all boot-loaders).

timmyDean said:
I might be wrong, but my money is on ACER NOT pushing ICS <period>. They may make it available manually, but pushing it OTA should have their legal staff trying to stop it.
Here's the issue. If you download the HC kernel and compare it to ICS it is greatly different. Many applications have issues running on ICS that ran fine on HC. It is risky. Many carriers have a service level agreement with customers and breaking a tablet on a customer you already have on contract paying you isn't worth the risk either. Secondly, there are huge changes in ICS that certain carriers are not going to want on their 3G networks. So, anyone with such an ACER (like on on Verzion), don't hold your breath.
So, here you are at ACER sitting in the executive boardroom and they're discussing ICS. Why would anyone want to support giving past customers (or better yet forcing past customers via OTA) ICS when they already have that past customer's money? No upside, only costs, headaches, and lawsuit's written all over it. ACER will therefore, release ICS only on NEW hardware. Therefore they can get you to pay for it. Also read their press releases. They are saying A500 to get ICS. But they are NOT saying YOUR OLD ACER a500 that you previously bought will be upgraded free of charge and free of issues are they?
Bottom-line, there's too much risk involved in OTA'ng a NEW OS to customers that are NOT paying you anything. Why have someone start a class action lawsuit over it because the OTA broke something?
Lastly, I've been programming and running ICS for 3 months now and it is buggy. Stuff crashes, MFG's are needing to patch their apps, etc. If ACER makes ICS OTA it won't be a release it will be a nightmare.
my 2¢
TD
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I keep up with the technology blogs and Acer is updating this tablet plus A100 by April. As far as all the other stuff Acer has recently said this week that they are focusing less on making new Android products but making great hardware and attracting customers by supporting software with updates.
http://androidandme.com/2011/12/dev...id-devices-catching-on-acer-joining-the-pack/
Sent from my A100 using Tapatalk

A lot of good points, but money talks in the world of business. Samsung, fubar'ed the press release that's all; everyone is thinking it, nobody is saying like Samsung.
Voting with our pocketbook, is correct. But we should have all walked when they locked the bootloader, don't you think?
All you have to have is ONE OTA come down and 'lady I'll get rich' looses access to the pictures she took of her dead husband. And lets say he died in Iraq, just to pour it on. So here's the grieving widow, of a fallen American hero, on national TV crying her eyes out that ACER pushed ICS and now she's lost the only pictures (oh and lets say a few videos) of her late husband.
Can you say multi-billion dollar lawsuit! If they push ICS it will not be pretty, and this is why no OEM will push it or make it available to an existing customer base. That's why they locked the bootloader so you cannot install ICS. Follow the money, you want ICS your bootloader is locked so cough up the cash for a new tablet, because with the locked boot loader you aren't loading anything. And they can walk into a court of law and state such 'Judge, we're not responsible for customer's loss of data because we locked the device. And as the evidence will show, the plaintiff unlocked the device causing the damage and loss of her photos and videos'. Meanwhile, 99.95% of the people won't know how to unlock the boatloader so they'll just buy a new one.
Bottom-line: Manufacture's are locking the bootloader to keep you from installing ICS, Netflex, Skype, or anything else that comes down the pipe. Oh, you want the NFL package, then let me sell you this NEW a500 with it already installed. Oh, you just want to install it on the one you already own? Sorry not supported. Since your bootloader is locked, good luck loading it!
What you will see is more and more apps that only run on ICS. Also, inside ICS will be LIB's in the /system/lib folder required to run certain apps. With a locked bootloader, you cannot add the required Lib's yet alone a OS. More proof, look at how many OEM's are now doing their own market place? If ACER locks you into ACER's market place then they make the millions. Again, follow the money. They are locking these to keep you contained inside their box and to make you buy and upgrade, period. There's no money in hardware, IBM said that what 15 years ago, HP this year? ACER wants to lock you into their market place, run only their applications, etc. That's what's happening here and why ICS will be something they can make money on. Therefore, don't hold your breath on any free ICS.
Lastly, ICS requires more memory, more video, more horsepower to run. Nvidia has already released a whole new architecture for ICS. Now you want the real bad news? They are building in additional security, and they claim that it will be impossible to root. Well, we all know how those claims go, but software exploits just might be a thing of the past. And how many of us are going to get out the soldering iron and paperclips to jumper in a bootloader unlock like gamers do on gaming stations?
Again, you can ***** and moan all you want, but ACER wants to make money and providing FREE ICS I'm sorry to say, just doesn't add money to the bottom line.
TD
---------- Post added at 06:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:50 AM ----------
ACER's direction - Future strategy going forward:
1. ACER has locked the bootloader to keep users from installing ICS. Therefore, they can offer a new series of devices for consumers to purchase for those wanting ICS.
2. The new Nvidia chip set and boot loader for ICS is locked from the factory from the beginning and with new and improved security and protocols. Since these tablets were never released unlocked, unlocking them will be very difficult. Only software security exploits can be used, however they can be easily fixed with an OTA.
3. ACER will deploy a new series of applications that only run on ICS with specific lib's contained in system/lib with out these library's certain applications will not run. ACER will exploit this to force vendors to use the ACER market place. If you want to watch movies, then you'll have to have an application from ACER's market place.
a. ACER will still allow general apps to be installed that conform to the ICS API, however applications that are potentially a revenue stream (for ACER) will need to be obtained from ACER's market place therefore they can charge the software vendor. Example, NetFlex application will still be free to the user, however the only version that runs is the one downloaded from ACER. Skype, the same thing. User's won't care, because to them it's still free. But to the software vendor it is not free, they will be charged by ACER to place their application on the market place.
I can go on and on. I do not work for ACER, nor claim to have any inside information. This is just my opinion gathered from various chats and reading articles on various sites. It is sort of the 'wild-wild-west' of the tablet world right now and everyone is trying to do a land grab. If you don't think this is possible then just look to the past. Remember AOL, Compuserve? You were locked into their network and they controlled it, but you don't have to look there. Look at the Kindle Fire, Lenovo, etc etc. They are all trying to be the next Apple, including Google with their Motorola division that they purchased.
anyway my 2 ¢
TD
---------- Post added at 06:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:17 AM ----------
qhinton said:
I keep up with the technology blogs and Acer is updating this tablet plus A100 by April. As far as all the other stuff Acer has recently said this week that they are focusing less on making new Android products but making great hardware and attracting customers by supporting software with updates.
http://androidandme.com/2011/12/dev...id-devices-catching-on-acer-joining-the-pack/
Sent from my A100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point in this post, but it's just a reporters opinion of what they said happened when consumers pushed back when Samsung announced it would not offer ICS. Again, all they said was they'd re-think it. If you read the ACER press release and CEO J.T. Wang from their conference. You can see ACER is going after software, and services, he says it over and over again and locking the bootloader is part of their strategy.
You have to really look at nVidia’s Tegra 3, and the architecture behind ICS. Trying to make it run on today's hardware devices isn't worth the engineering effort.
Then you have MS and Intel breathing down your neck with Windows 8. Not to mention the ARM architecture wanting a piece of the Windows 8 action. As Scotty would say, "Captain, I can't change the laws of physics" and current platforms don't support ICS. Meaning, it will be about as affective as a one legged man in a butt kicking contest.
TD

Jeez dude, tinfoil hat much? They locked the bootloader because they're tired of all the idiots bricking their devices and returning them for warranty. The way to stop everyone from bootlegging ics on their devices and bricking them, and keeping their customer base happy long term is to release it officially.
Lots of companies make lots of money selling gadgets. If they want to try and supplement that with their own market they may, but it would be suicide to lock people into that. Only Amazon and Apple will get away with that and if they try to compete in that space they'll get killed.
My $.02

rbtconsultants said:
Jeez dude, tinfoil hat much? They locked the bootloader because they're tired of all the idiots bricking their devices and returning them for warranty. The way to stop everyone from bootlegging ics on their devices and bricking them, and keeping their customer base happy long term is to release it officially.
Lots of companies make lots of money selling gadgets. If they want to try and supplement that with their own market they may, but it would be suicide to lock people into that. Only Amazon and Apple will get away with that and if they try to compete in that space they'll get killed.
My $.02
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Love the hat comment <lol>
I do not buy into locking the device to keep costs down. In all the documents obtained from ACER, there's no mention of it. They only mention locking the device to secure software and preventing people from pirating. No mention of stupid people bricking them.
And up until they locked the boot loader, it was IMPOSSIBLE to brick a500. Let me restate that, it was impossible to brick an ACER a500 before they locked the bootloader. Because, all you had to do is download ACER/NFlash tool, connect your tablet to your PC, use a paperclip and poof, you flashed it back to factory. A monkey could do it, and I personally walked hundreds through it over the phone doing tech support (some I think were monkey's or at least about as smart).
Also, there are hundreds of reasons why the a500 would lock up (brick) and non of them were because of stupid user's trying to root them. Matter of fact, according to ACER's own tech support personnel, they now get more tablets returned then they did before because they cannot walk users through reloading them. Also, the VP of support brought it to J. T's attention that locking the bootloader was incurring increase costs. He snapped, and flew off the handle stating that like it or not, the bootloader will stay locked and if there's an increase in returns they'll just have to work through it.
TD

TD...no offense dude, but what a damned killjoy. =p
Reminds me of the sort of person who can only see the negative in everything, which is sad really.
Cheer up, eat an orange, watch kittens on youtube...something.
Peace

How about chemistry? I think I'm going to take a bunch of beer and turn it into urine.
Anyway, happy new year to all. You know all this rooting is a mute point away, isn't it? Doesn't the world end next year on 21 Dec 2012 anyway?
Well off to chemistry class.
Cheers,
TD

haha, that works too. Beer is good!
btw...meant no disrespect

gaddenar said:
haha, that works too. Beer is good!
btw...meant no disrespect
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
None taken, nice to have people appreciate chemistry.
Cheers,
---------- Post added at 07:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:36 AM ----------
Lastly, I wanted to share that another company I use to ***** about locked their bootloader.
They finally changed their way because enough of us complained enough about it. We all need to do voice our opinion to ACER and get them to change as well.
Please read this http://htcdev.com/bootloader

i hope ics will come soon. Compared to my galaxy nexus the a500 feels realy sluggish.
Im on root so any custom xoom or transformer custom ics rom will do

timmyDean said:
Voting with our pocketbook, is correct. But we should have all walked when they locked the bootloader, don't you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you walked away when you already have bought the device?
All you have to have is ONE OTA come down and 'lady I'll get rich' looses access to the pictures she took of her dead husband. And lets say he died in Iraq, just to pour it on. So here's the grieving widow, of a fallen American hero, on national TV crying her eyes out that ACER pushed ICS and now she's lost the only pictures (oh and lets say a few videos) of her late husband.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lay off the tinfoil-hat, please. Acer won't be pushing ICS unless they can be fairly certain such a thing doesn't happen under normal circumstances. If the user has e.g. rooted their device then Acer isn't liable for possible damages as that is no longer "normal circumstances" nor intended use of the device.
That's why they locked the bootloader so you cannot install ICS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd say they locked it to stop every Joe Average from screwing up their tablets and then taking it to warranty.
More proof, look at how many OEM's are now doing their own market place?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let's see... Apple, check. Amazon, check. Google, check. Samsung? Not check. HTC? Not check. Notice the trend? It's all the really big ones that ALREADY have enough of a muscle to throw such things around, not just plain device manufacturers. Acer/Samsung/HTC/etc. would just drive themselves to the ground if they went that way, they simply do not have the marketshare or muscle to be able to do that, nor do they have the required expertise.
That's what's happening here and why ICS will be something they can make money on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's happening here is someone WAY too comfortable in his tinfoil-hat making desperate rants on the Internets while making himself look like a lunatic (which he likely is.)
Well, we all know how those claims go, but software exploits just might be a thing of the past.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no way of making 100% exploit-proof OS unless your OS actually accepts no input from any device whatsoever.
And how many of us are going to get out the soldering iron and paperclips to jumper in a bootloader unlock like gamers do on gaming stations?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, you can count atleast me in. Not that my PS3 required that either, software exploit works just fine.

WereCatf said:
How do you walked away when you already have bought the device?
Lay off the tinfoil-hat, please. Acer won't be pushing ICS unless they can be fairly certain such a thing doesn't happen under normal circumstances. If the user has e.g. rooted their device then Acer isn't liable for possible damages as that is no longer "normal circumstances" nor intended use of the device.
I'd say they locked it to stop every Joe Average from screwing up their tablets and then taking it to warranty.
Let's see... Apple, check. Amazon, check. Google, check. Samsung? Not check. HTC? Not check. Notice the trend? It's all the really big ones that ALREADY have enough of a muscle to throw such things around, not just plain device manufacturers. Acer/Samsung/HTC/etc. would just drive themselves to the ground if they went that way, they simply do not have the marketshare or muscle to be able to do that, nor do they have the required expertise.
What's happening here is someone WAY too comfortable in his tinfoil-hat making desperate rants on the Internets while making himself look like a lunatic (which he likely is.)
There is no way of making 100% exploit-proof OS unless your OS actually accepts no input from any device whatsoever.
Well, you can count atleast me in. Not that my PS3 required that either, software exploit works just fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree 100% except for the fact that samsung actually have its own apps market, accessible via its samsung apps application.puny in comparison, but its there.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

A200 Gets ICS

So is it only a matter of time before we get it?
http://www.netbooknews.com/44849/ac...campaign=Feed:+netbooknews/nbn+(Netbook+News)

Hm, now that's interesting. I guess we can more-or-less grab the A200 ICS ROM and slap it on A500. Camera likely won't work, but everything else should. Not bad news, not at all.

ICS on A200 Experience
I was over at the STAPLES store on 2/9/2012. They had the A200 on display which had ICS. I played with it for around 5 minutes and it was smoother than my current A500 with stock Honeycomb. It was fast in normal usage and browsing like my HP Touchpad with CM9. The feather I liked on the A200 was the added rotary GUI. By pressing the round button/dot at the lower middle of the screen, a rotary dial pops up allowing you to control volume, settings, and programs. I can't wait until we get ICS on the A500.
phillymatt said:
So is it only a matter of time before we get it?
http://www.netbooknews.com/44849/ac...campaign=Feed:+netbooknews/nbn+(Netbook+News)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

ax135 said:
I was over at the STAPLES store on 2/9/2012. They had the A200 on display which had ICS. I played with it for around 5 minutes and it was smoother than my current A500 with stock Honeycomb. It was fast in normal usage and browsing like my HP Touchpad with CM9. The feather I liked on the A200 was the added rotary GUI. By pressing the round button/dot at the lower middle of the screen, a rotary dial pops up allowing you to control volume, settings, and programs. I can't wait until we get ICS on the A500.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
even if/when we get it, dont expect the ring. thats part of the a200 3.2.1 rom as well, and the a500 doesnt have that. they have it to make up for the lack of dolby mobile, rear camera and docking port (possibly hdmi out as well, i cant remember).

To me this shows how acer feels about there existing customers. I am leaning toword the a500 might not get the update.The a500 should have been first . But of course because its been replaces financially its better for acer to take money from new customers instead of Supporting the existing and NOW QUITE FURIOUS Ones.. They will not REMAIN NUMBER TWO IN SALES FOR LING WITH THIS TYPE OF Business..
Acer should call HP TECH SUPPORT AND GET A UNDERSTANDING HOW CUSTOMERS SHOULD BE Treated.. other then i do not agree with the whole hp web os pad drop decisions.

erica_renee said:
To me this shows how acer feels about there existing customers. I am leaning toword the a500 might not get the update.The a500 should have been first . But of course because its been replaces financially its better for acer to take money from new customers instead of Supporting the existing and NOW QUITE FURIOUS Ones.. They will not REMAIN NUMBER TWO IN SALES FOR LING WITH THIS TYPE OF Business..
Acer should call HP TECH SUPPORT AND GET A UNDERSTANDING HOW CUSTOMERS SHOULD BE Treated.. other then i do not agree with the whole hp web os pad drop decisions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Id say sell your 500 and get a 200. Its a better tablet.

the long wait
erica_renee said:
To me this shows how acer feels about there existing customers. I am leaning toword the a500 might not get the update.The a500 should have been first . But of course because its been replaces financially its better for acer to take money from new customers instead of Supporting the existing and NOW QUITE FURIOUS Ones.. They will not REMAIN NUMBER TWO IN SALES FOR LING WITH THIS TYPE OF Business..
Acer should call HP TECH SUPPORT AND GET A UNDERSTANDING HOW CUSTOMERS SHOULD BE Treated.. other then i do not agree with the whole hp web os pad drop decisions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would imagine that Acer, like any other company, is in business to make money. It makes good business sense to upgrade current models before older ones. The update will help it compete with the xooms and transformers out there on the same shelves. I wouldn't say this automatically rules out an update for our A500s. The A200 seems to have slightly simpler hardware as well, so less work in making the update, less bugs to QC before public release, etc. I would give it another few months before unleashing the Hulk rage. My SGSII and my Tab 7.7 are still waiting also and Samsung has a bit more muscle to develop with. All good things to those who wait.... (I hope)

I have seen my fair share of these threads pop up all over xda within the areas I frequent, I seen it with the captivate and att with the gingerbread update, I seen it with the the locked down boot loaders on the evo 4g. Yes good things do happen to those who wait, I believe that there was an article with an official statement from an Acer rep that Yes ICS will be pushed out to the A500 and that other smaller tablet but it will happen most likely after the newer devices have been updated. And if Acer doesn't put it out then there will most likely be a developer come along that will be able to build it for the A200

Haven't yet seen the update on my A200, and system update isn't showing it.

Overheal said:
Haven't yet seen the update on my A200, and system update isn't showing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As always, these updates are released cyclically, one area gets it first, the next a few days later and so on. Could take up to 2 weeks for your area to get it.

WereCatf said:
Hm, now that's interesting. I guess we can more-or-less grab the A200 ICS ROM and slap it on A500. Camera likely won't work, but everything else should. Not bad news, not at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
KJY posted a link to the A200 ICS stock ROM in the dev section a while back. He warned against trying to flash it on an A500. I would think the hardware is pretty similar. I'd at least open it up and remove the recovery and update bits.
Jim

jliedeka said:
KJY posted a link to the A200 ICS stock ROM in the dev section a while back. He warned against trying to flash it on an A500. I would think the hardware is pretty similar. I'd at least open it up and remove the recovery and update bits.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I thought too, both are after all Tegra2 with the same resolution and all. One thing that could cause issues is if they have different partition layout, but I don't see why Acer would've messed with that without a reason.
The main difference is the lack of the rear camera, and I assume the 2MP front-facing one is different from the one in A500.

Since the A500 is no longer available in many stores, makes sense to be selling current models with the latest Android version otherwise punters will go with a "more up to date" tablet from a competitor. We will get the update next, and quite probably sooner rather than later.
Sent from my Acer Iconia A500 using Tapatalk

This is already been released by region.
Sent From Rob's ATRIX.

Acer officially announces ICS on the A500 for ANZ in April:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/0...ia-and-new-zealand-will-arrive-in-april-2012/

That better include the a501 as well! thanks for the update

Who knows, they company is not doing so hot these days.....
http://m.engadget.com/default/artic...q4-2011/&category=classic&icid=eng_latest_art
Sent From Rob's ATRIX.

getting this now, finally. SC.
edit: the tablet's responsiveness now suffers greatly with a Live Wallpaper. Already looking forward to the next patch!

phillymatt said:
Acer officially announces ICS on the A500 for ANZ in April:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/0...ia-and-new-zealand-will-arrive-in-april-2012/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And it looks like Acer America says A500 and A100 will have ICS starting mid-April.
http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/0...update-for-a500-and-a100-coming-in-mid-april/

Bootloader unlock on Asus TF101 official

http://gizmodo.com/5887218/asus-transformer-bootloader-unlock-available-for-download
HTC first, now ASUS, I hope ACER will join the bunch.

You're new here, aren't you?
Never expect anything positive from Acer and thank whichever god or gods you believe in should they accidentally actually do something positive.

WereCatf said:
You're new here, aren't you?
Never expect anything positive from Acer and thank whichever god or gods you believe in should they accidentally actually do something positive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Woweeee..
But i to agree with you about acer.I think after the device is no longer valid it could maybe happen..But even then i do not see it. They are always answering Absolutely no.

I find it interesting that SO many people trash Acer, yet, apparently, purchased their products. Since I've known Acer to be very consistent in their products, support, warranties, etc... for years... I wonder why these people would have purchased an Acer product in the first place. Perhaps they all received them as gifts. Surely, anyone who thought SO little of a company would never give them their hard-earned cash for their products.

sRDennyCrane said:
I find it interesting that SO many people trash Acer, yet, apparently, purchased their products. Since I've known Acer to be very consistent in their products, support, warranties, etc... for years... I wonder why these people would have purchased an Acer product in the first place. Perhaps they all received them as gifts. Surely, anyone who thought SO little of a company would never give them their hard-earned cash for their products.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heaven forbid we have the entitlement to do what we want with our devices! Acer would never change how the bootloader worked after it went on the market.
It would be impossible and never a thing that happened.

WereCatf said:
You're new here, aren't you?
Never expect anything positive from Acer and thank whichever god or gods you believe in should they accidentally actually do something positive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, who knows ... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=22884131&postcount=394

WereCatf said:
You're new here, aren't you?
Never expect anything positive from Acer and thank whichever god or gods you believe in should they accidentally actually do something positive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let's simmer down, shall we? ;]
Sent from my Acer Iconia A500 using xda premium

WereCatf said:
You're new here, aren't you?
Never expect anything positive from Acer and thank whichever god or gods you believe in should they accidentally actually do something positive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I have my a500 for a little bit over hlaf of a year.

WereCatf said:
You're new here, aren't you?
Never expect anything positive from Acer and thank whichever god or gods you believe in should they accidentally actually do something positive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are so right. Man, I wish acer had done something positive. Creating the A500 was an awful, shameful thing to do!
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium

I think this is all wrong..
most of us Love the A500 . its hardware and True ability.well ability we would have if it were not locked.. BUT WE CAN NOT STAND ACER'S POLICIES regarding how they treat there customers
I think the above best suites this situation.. For me anyway.

erica_renee said:
I think this is all wrong..
most of us Love the A500 . its hardware and True ability.well ability we would have if it were not locked.. BUT WE CAN NOT STAND ACER'S POLICIES regarding how they treat there customers
I think the above best suites this situation.. For me anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me offer another prespective...
Iconia vs. Ipad = $300 (There or about)
Iconia vs. Transformer = $50??? (plus or minus)
Iconia vs. Galaxy or Xoom??? Dont even bother
I was able to root in a few hours thanks to the tutorials in XDA's dev section and dont particulary care for anything stock.
Based on the price differences of tablets with comparable hardware I think we should be quite happy with what we have. I bought my tab on boxing day at a price point that I did not expect to get ICS for.
Why the gripes folks?

Since we have nvflash, we can run even custom bootloader; so there is absolutely no security on the device. Right now the process is a bit complicated, so you have to wait for stock bootloader with working fastboot oem unlock

Skrilax_CZ said:
Since we have nvflash, we can run even custom bootloader; so there is absolutely no security on the device. Right now the process is a bit complicated, so you have to wait for stock bootloader with working fastboot oem unlock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes i have been watching the work in your Dev thread. and also on the on acer tablet users website. There seems to be a built in unlock method with icon type screen. So if wHhat i read over there is true Acer's Push of ICS To the a200 has a built in unlock mech.
So it looks like acer has been watching and listening.

I think moving forward a lot of manufacturers will be making the bootloaders unlockable. Mostly because it's a way to compete now. A lot of people say the "average user" doesn't care about or doesn't understand root, updates, ROMs, etc.
In reality there are probably just as many "power" users as "average". Guess where a lot of them go if someone makes their hardware more open. Locked down hardware becomes undesirable. That's sales they don't get. That's recommendations they might not get. That's a strike against them in reviews.
Money might be what's moving this but I'm certainly not complaining. If it turns out the developers and engineers behind these companies understand where we come from, that's even better.

I Agree it seems to be a tread to unlock them especially on NON Contract devices. I can kinda understand if say you get a 400.00 device for 125.00 attached to a 2 year contract how the Carrier has a right to restrict that device to there Services only.But after that two years when the device is on its way out.They should then Totally unlock the device..
with the above said NONE OF that should apply to the A500 . A501 if you bought it on a contract subsidized with a lower price to stay with the company They have right to lock .. THIS i believe is the force behind Manufactures locking devices. Either pressure from carriers . or locking them as a incentive to get carries to use there device.as well as they think it says them tech support dollars.The tech support dollars saved .Well i believe they loose as many Tech savy customers a dollars saved.
I so hope they just allow unlocks for all devices

Link is actually for the Transformer Prime TF201
Just wanted to point out that the official tool linked in the original post (remember that post? It was about the Asus TF101? I know it didn't have to do with Acer so you may have forgotten...) is actually only available for the TF201 (Transformer Prime) running ICS. There does not appear to be an official unlock tool for the TF101.

Yeah it need to be unlocked it like have a PC without a bios
Sent from my Iconia A500 using Tapatalk

Skrilax_CZ said:
Since we have nvflash, we can run even custom bootloader; so there is absolutely no security on the device. Right now the process is a bit complicated, so you have to wait for stock bootloader with working fastboot oem unlock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Who are "we"? I sure as hell don't have it. Lots of people don't have nvflash. For us the TF101 is as locked down as they come.
Only releasing the SBKv2 (and v3 and v4 and v5 etc) keys or unlocking the bootloaders is acceptable.
Yet Asus has yet to release anything at all.
Colour me disappointed.

josteink said:
Who are "we"? I sure as hell don't have it. Lots of people don't have nvflash. For us the TF101 is as locked down as they come.
Only releasing the SBKv2 (and v3 and v4 and v5 etc) keys or unlocking the bootloaders is acceptable.
Yet Asus has yet to release anything at all.
Colour me disappointed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"We" are those who own an a500. Welcome to the iconia a500 general forum.
BTW the transformer, being a tegra device, does indeed have nvflash. Seems its useless as pointed out below. Forgive my ignorance.

wolverine423 said:
BTW the transformer, being a tegra device, does indeed have nvflash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed it does, but unless you have a secure boot key version 1 TF101, nvflash does not work . What the above poster is talking about is that most of the current TF101s on the market have secure boot key version 2 and up which means nvflash is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.